Television talk show host, born in Corning, Iowa, USA. Raised in Nebraska, he sent away for a magic kit at age 12, and The Great Carsoni gave his first performance two years later. After serving in the US Navy (19436), he graduated from the University of Nebraska (1949) and went to California (1950), where he worked for various radio and television shows. Moving to New York City (1956), he hosted the television quiz show Who Do You Trust? (195863), making it ABC's top daytime programme. He first appeared on the Tonight Show in 1958, and as permanent host between 1962 and 1992 he turned it into one of National Broadcasting Company's most successful. His talk-show personality combined midwestern innocence with cosmopolitan wit. He portrayed a series of outrageous American types in occasional skits, but the programme's appeal was its familiar formula: Ed McMahon introduced him by announcing Heeere's Johnny!, then Carson did a monologue followed by guest interviews - usually showbiz celebrities - punctuated by Doc Severinsen's music. In private life, Carson was almost the opposite of his spontaneous, charming onstage personality. Married four times, he was reputed to be rather distant in his dealings with most people. He formed a production group in 1980 and became immensely wealthy from his own and other shows. On his retirement (1992), he was regarded as almost a national institution. He won four Emmy Awards, was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame (1987), and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992).
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John William "Johnny" Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his iconic status as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Before The Tonight Show
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, to parents Homer "Kit" Lloyd Carson, a power company manager, and Ruth Hook Carson. The next year, Carson took a job at WOW radio and television in Omaha, where he hosted an early morning TV show called The Squirrel's Nest;
In 1953, well-known comic Red Skelton – a fan of Carson's sketch comedy show, Carson's Cellar, which ran from 1951 to 1953 on KNXT – tapped Carson to join his show as a writer.
He hosted several TV shows before his run on The Tonight Show, including the game show Earn Your Vacation (1954), the variety show The Johnny Carson Show (1955 - 1956), and a five-year stint on the game show Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962), during which Carson met long-time sidekick Ed McMahon.
Carson was a regular panelist on the first version of To Tell the Truth.
The Tonight Show
Carson became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in October 1962.
For millions of people, watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at the end of the evening became a ritual, and Carson, with his quick wit and natural charm, became a well-known entertainer loved by many. Most of the later shows began with music and the announcement by Ed McMahon "Heeeeeere's Johnny!", followed by a brief comedic monologue by Carson. Carson's trademark was a phantom golf swing at the end of his Tonight Show monologues, aimed at stage left where the band was.
After the move, Carson stopped doing shows five days a week. Instead, on Monday nights there was a "guest host" (leaving Carson to do the other four each week). Joan Rivers became the "permanent" guest host from September 1983 until 1986, when she was fired for accepting a competing show on the startup Fox network without consulting Carson first.
Carson had a talent for coming up with quick quips to deal with unexpected problems. Alternately, Carson might pull down the boom mike close to his face and announce "Attention K-Mart shoppers!"
Carson's show was the launching pad for many talented performers, notably comedians. In many ways, Carson was the successor to The Ed Sullivan Show as a showcase for all kinds of talent, as well as continuing the Vaudeville variety-show tradition.
In 1973, Carson had a legendary run-in with popular psychic Uri Geller when he invited Geller to appear on his show. Carson, an experienced stage magician, wanted a neutral demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities, so, at the advice of his friend and fellow magician James Randi, he gave Geller several spoons out of his desk drawer and asked him to bend them with his psychic powers.
However, a bit of risqué humor was not beyond Carson. I'll tell you what, these are mine." Carson replied, "I have certain guidelines on this show. But I would give about a year's pay to peek under there."
Via Satellite: Carson Live and Uncensored
Even though Carson's program was based in Burbank, NBC maintained editing and production services for the program in New York until the early 1980s, which resulted in the requirement that Carson's program be transmitted from Burbank to New York.
Carson and his production staff grew concerned about what was happening, and eventually pressured NBC into ceasing the satellite transmissions of the live taping by the early 1980s, instead opting to use microwave landline transmission to send the program back to New York, and eventually moving the show's editing facilities to Burbank all together, no longer necessitating the need for a live feed.
Critical acclaim
Carson was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987.
Marriages
Joan Wolcott
Carson married his college sweetheart Joan Wolcott on October 1, 1949. Laurence Leamer's biography on Carson King of The Night refers to several incidents of Carson beating his wife in private and in front of others.
Joanne Copeland
In 1963, Carson got a "quickie" Mexican divorce from Joan and married Joanne Copeland on August 17, 1963.
Joanna Holland
At The Tonight Show's 10th anniversary party on September 30, 1972, Carson announced that he and former model Joanna Holland had been secretly married that afternoon, shocking his friends and associates.
Alexis Maas
Carson married Alexis Maas on June 20, 1987.
Personal
Carson was a major investor in the ultimately failed De Lorean Motor Company, and was cited in a 1982 drunk driving incident while driving a De Lorean DMC-12 sportscar in Beverly Hills.
Carson was close friends with astronomer Carl Sagan, who often appeared on The Tonight Show to give presentations on astronomy.
Carson's son from his first marriage: Richard, was killed on June 21, 1991, when his car plunged down a steep embankment along a paved service road off Highway 1 near Cayucos, a small town north of San Luis Obispo. On his first show after his son's death, Carson gave a stirring tribute to Ricky Carson in the final minutes of his show as samples of his son's photographic work (and images of Ricky, himself) were displayed with the music accompaniment of "Riviera Paradise" by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan (himself the victim of an accidental death less than one year earlier). In addition, the final image of Carson's last show in May 1992 featured a photo Richard had taken.
Retirement
Carson retired from show business on May 22, 1992 when he stepped down as host of The Tonight Show.
At the end of his final Tonight Show appearance, Carson indicated that he would return with a new project, but instead chose to go into full retirement, rarely giving interviews and declining to participate in NBC's 75th Anniversary celebrations.
Carson's most famous post-retirement appearance came on Letterman's late-night CBS talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman, on May 13, 1994. On the last show of the week, Letterman indicated that Carson would be delivering the list. Letterman then indicated that the card he was given did not have the proper list on it, and asked Carson to bring out the "real" list. On that cue, the real Johnny Carson emerged from behind the stage curtain; A clearly overcome Carson mouthed "I'm back home" to the stage director, ran his hands over the desk, and after a moment walked back off stage without delivering his planned joke.
Just days before Carson's death, it was revealed that the retired "King of Late Night" still kept up with current events and late-night TV, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman. Letterman would then use these jokes in the monologue of his show, which Carson got "a big kick out of" according to Worldwide Pants, Inc. Reportedly, sometimes Letterman would do the golf swing after one of those jokes, as a silent tribute to Carson. Letterman frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac" (with band leader Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band," and the "Week in Review."
In November 2004, Carson announced a $5.3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Department of Theatre Arts, which created the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
Carson also donated to causes in his hometown of Norfolk, including the Carson Cancer Center at Faith Regional Health Services, The Elkhorn Valley Museum, and the Johnny Carson Theater at Norfolk Senior High School.
Death and aftermath
At 6:50 AM PST on January 23, 2005, Carson died at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, of respiratory arrest arising from emphysema.
Following Carson's death his body was cremated, and the ashes were given to his wife.
On January 24, 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno paid tribute to Carson with guests Ed McMahon, Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Drew Carey and k.d. Letterman also told his viewers that the monologue he had just given had consisted entirely of jokes sent to him by Carson in the last few months of his life. Doc Severinsen ended the Letterman show that night by playing one of Carson's two favorite songs, "Here's that Rainy Day" (the other was "I'll Be Seeing You").
Many other talk show hosts came and went during Carson's 30 years. He said that he got a call right after the first show, from Carson, telling him, "It's not as easy as it looks, is it, kid?"
The 2005 film The Aristocrats was dedicated to Johnny, who apparently was a huge fan of the joke (and also a huge fan of Aristocrats co-director Penn & I will miss Johnny Carson like no other person in my life.
| — Johnny Carson's closing words on his final show, May 22, 1992 |
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